Associate Director, Product Design (Toronto)

Overview As an Associate Director of Product Design, you will lead and mentor a high‑performing team of designers dedicated to creating human‑led AI products and delivering cutting-edge, responsible, and intuitive digital experiences. You will champion user‑centered design principles, usability standards, and inclusive practices across all product development cycles, ensuring every experience is outcome‑driven, accessible, and delightful. Responsibilities Your role is to balance creative excellence with practical execution—translating complex business goals and user needs into compelling design visions and actionable roadmaps. You’ll facilitate strong cross‑functional partnerships with software development, product management, and user research teams, and drive user research initiatives to ensure a deep understanding of user needs and validation of design solutions. You’ll foster a culture of continuous innovation, inclusion, and bold experimentation, while upholding rigorous design quality standards in a dynamic, fast‑paced environment. Additionally, you will work closely with client partners to ensure design initiatives align with client business objectives. By nurturing client relationships and promoting design transparency, you will help deliver tangible value, drive business growth, and reinforce Nurun’s reputation as a trusted partner. Focus Areas - Lead Design Direction: Elevate client experiences and showcase Nurun’s design innovation and creative capabilities. - Integrate Research & Trends: Inform solutions that benefit clients and fuel Nurun’s design R&D; and future assets. - Facilitate Teamwork: Align design, tech, and product functions for scalable impact across clients and Nurun’s offerings. - Prototype & Validate: Rapidly test concepts to drive client transformation and create reusable Nurun design assets. Iterate with Data: Apply design performance metrics to deliver outcomes and grow Nurun’s reputation for excellence. Qualifications - Experience: Demonstrated experience (12+ years) in leading design teams and managing complex design projects, with a proven track record of delivering successful user experiences. - Design Leadership: Proven ability to lead, inspire, and manage a team of designers, fostering a high-performance culture. - UCD Expertise: Extensive experience in user-centered design methodologies, with deep knowledge of UX principles, interaction design, and visual design. - AI Leadership Experience: Experience leading the design for frontier technologies such as AI and agents, with a solid understanding of their unique design challenges. - Strategic Vision: Ability to define and articulate a compelling design vision that aligns with business goals and market opportunities, translating objectives into tangible design outcomes and roadmaps. - Cross‑Functional Collaboration: Exceptional ability to partner effectively with software development, product management, research, and marketing teams. - Usability & Accessibility: Commitment to the highest standards of usability, accessibility, and inclusive design. Preferred Qualifications - Leadership Experience: 5+ years in a leadership role within UX/UI design, team management and career development - Agile: Experience working in agile, cross‑functional teams. - Tools: Familiarity with the latest design platforms, plugin ecosystem, and agentic design tools. - Change Management: Experience leading teams through organizational or technological change. - Global Products: Experience designing for global or multilingual products. - Stakeholder Management: Strong skills in managing and aligning diverse stakeholder groups. Why Nurun? - For our working philosophy and entrepreneurial spirit; - For an approach to our projects based on understanding human needs; - For the chance to work on large‑scale digital projects for major clients around the world; - For our competitive offer and wide range of social benefits from day one; - For the option of a hybrid work arrangement, with three days per week in the office at locations in Toronto, Windsor, and Montreal; - For a flexible schedule that truly allows work‑life balance; - For a personalized development plan supported by our continuing education platforms; - For a rich collaboration with passionate and talented experts. The salary range for this position is $120,000–$150,000 per year, based on experience, skills, and relevant certifications. We believe in pay transparency and are committed to offering competitive, market‑aligned compensation. We use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of our hiring process, such as reviewing applications or analyzing resumes. These tools assist our recruitment team but never replace human decision‑making. We believe in a human‑first approach, where your experience and potential are recognized by people. Saatchi & Saatchi is committed to building a diverse workforce representative of our community. We encourage and are pleased to consider all qualified candidates, without regard to race, colour, citizenship, religion, sex, marital / family status, sexual orientation, gender identity, aboriginal status, age, disability or persons who may require an accommodation, to apply. If you require a specific accommodation please contact Human Resources at 416-925-7733 or by email at . Apply on Kit Job: kitjob.ca/job/2pctep